Four Times in One Show, Chris Matthews Compares Ted Cruz to Joe McCarthy
In case MSNBC viewers didn't understand that Ted Cruz is the new Joe McCarthy, Hardball's Chris Matthews on Thursday repeated the attack four times. Smearing the Texas Republican as unhinged and paranoid is a favorite of Matthews. This time, the host lashed out against Cruz's opposition to Barack Obama's executive order amnesty. At 7:35, Matthews jeered, "Big surprise there. Joe McCarthy is at it again."
Five minutes later, at 7:40, the cable host ranted about "this plan by the new Joe McCarthy which is always to blame the government as lawless." Repeating himself, he wondered of Cruz, "Where is he going with this? Because, you know, demagoguery is not a good career choice. And it usually lasts for a while, Huey Long, Joe McCarthy, Father Coughlin." [MP3 audio here.]
Matthews lectured, "Nobody has ever been a long-term demagogue in this country." Three minutes later, at 7:43, Matthews was at it again, snarling, "...He's so much like Joe McCarthy in the way he makes his indictments, the way he sweats and makes these arguments."
The way he sweats?
Clearly, Matthews doesn't listen to himself. On February 14, 2013, he excoriated Cruz: "You know, I don't often say it, and I rarely say it, but there was echoes of Joe McCarthy there."
Rarely?
On July 25, 2014, Matthews insisted that Cruz is "not aware of what he’s committing: the horror of McCarthyism all over again."
On July 28, 2010, Matthews whined that Republicans like Michele Bachmann use "Joe McCarthy tactics."
On April 2, 2010, the journalist lashed out at Rush Limbaugh for using the word regime. Matthews fumed, "I don't even think Joe McCarthy ever called this government a 'regime.'"
A partial transcript of the December 4 Hardball segment is below:
7:35
CHRIS MATTHEWS: Coming up with the roundtable: Ted Cruz and his band on the right are at it again. They want to shut
the government down. Big surprise there. Joe McCarthy is at it again.
...
MATTHEWS: Welcome back to Hardball. Well, call them the shutdown boys. They are angry and they are being led into battle by Ted Cruz. Big surprise. Yesterday, Senator Cruz rallied a group of House conservative red hots to reject a deal to fund the federal government. It was one week actually to get the deal to the president's desk. That's all they got, or else the government does shut down next week.
...
7:40MATTHEWS: I don't where to start on this, but what is -- I want to go with you, Jon. This plan by the new Joe McCarthy which is always to blame the government as lawless. They are always traitors to the cause. Where is he going with this? Because, you know, demagoguery is not a good career choice. And it usually lasts for a while, Huey Long, Joe McCarthy, Father Coughlin. They had their spurts, like Roman candles, and then they puttered out. Nobody has ever been a long-term demagogue in this country.
...
7:43
MATTHEWS: I have a long memory more than all you guys, and I gotta tell you, he's so much like Joe McCarthy in the way he makes his indictments, the way he sweats and makes these arguments. Everybody is a traitor but him.
— Scott Whitlock is Senior News Analyst at the Media Research Center. Follow Scott Whitlock on Twitter.
